Oysters are terrific !!!!

[carnivore]

I ate some oysters today and I must say that it gives  me a tremendous energy for the all day!
I didn't eat oysters for 3 months and my body was probably in need for some "marine" micronutrients.
Eating oysters is like eating an entire animal, which is a real whole food, contrary to muscles or even organs.

It also makes me think that variety is very important, even on a carnivorous diet.

[TylerDurden]

I ate some oysters today and I must say that it gives  me a tremendous energy for the all day!
I didn't eat oysters for 3 months and my body was probably in need for some "marine" micronutrients.
Eating oysters is like eating an entire animal, which is a real whole food, contrary to muscles or even organs.

It also makes me think that variety is very important, even on a carnivorous diet.

I agree - if one is eating raw, whole, wildcaught oysters then it makes up for the fact that we are usually unable to eat all the parts of the entire carcass of ruminants like sheep or goats. I still hope that one day, I will end up in some enlightened country where one can buy brains or eyeballs for dinner without being considered strange - such countries do still exist.

[Satya]

I love oysters too, especially Pacific Ocean varieties.  How many do you eat at a sitting?  I'll take up to 6 usually.  All raw seafood gives me great energy.

The NY Times has an article on the boom in oyster farming.  I may not agree with or support that practice, but it is a good read with some detailed information.  It's important to follow the market if you eat oysters regularly anyway:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28oysters.html

[xylothrill]

I'm going to try these. I can get wild-caught oysters cheep now. The last time I had them in a restaurant they were farmed.

[carnivore]

I'm going to try these. I can get wild-caught oysters cheep now. The last time I had them in a restaurant they were farmed.

Wild oysters are ideal, but farmed oysters are also very interesting. In France,  growers don't give them food : they eat by themselfs what they find in the sea. I can 20 or more big oysters (N°1) in one meal. Very easy to digest!

[TylerDurden]

I eat a bunch of 20 oysters for 1 day out of every fortnight, on average.

[Satya]

Wild oysters are ideal, but farmed oysters are also very interesting. In France,  growers don't give them food : they eat by themselfs what they find in the sea. I can 20 or more big oysters (N°1) in one meal. Very easy to digest!

I suppose they could be raised well if the conditions were right, considering their natural ecology.  I think I have come to equate farmed seafood with inferiority, and perhaps I should keep a more open mind at least regarding oysters.  It depends, but I would say wild from clean waters are best.

[xylothrill]

Wild oysters are ideal, but farmed oysters are also very interesting. In France,  growers don't give them food : they eat by themselfs what they find in the sea. I can 20 or more big oysters (N°1) in one meal. Very easy to digest!

Carnivore,

When it comes to fish, there's a clear difference between farmed and wild because the farmed fish are kept in tanks and fed who knows what.. With farmed filter-feeders, such as oysters or clams, which are usually kept in a bay, and not "fed" anything by humans, I get concerned with the contamination of boat and petroleum toxins. There can also be runoff of lawn fertilizers -not to mention red tide.

In Florida, we have something called "red tide," which is an algal bloom that gives off toxins, in the water and the air. Filter feeders are off limits during red tide. Whether farmed or wild, I would not eat them during a red tide outbreak. You see, manatees and dolphins have been known to wash ashore during these outbreaks. Small fish start washing up first, followed by bigger fish, such as drums. Then the sea-mammals and sea turtles start to wash up.

The last time I had oysters at a restaurant, it was just after an outbreak of red tide. I was assured that they were farm-raised in northern Florida, so I enjoyed them. I had 12 in fact. It didn't begin to fill me up. :-)

Craig

[TheWayCreatesTheWarrior]

just watch out opening them! i seriously, almost lost my thumb, twice, trying to open them.

[xylothrill]

just watch out opening them! i seriously, almost lost my thumb, twice, trying to open them.

Even with shuckers?

[TheWayCreatesTheWarrior]

Even with shuckers?

not sure what Shuckers are??

i just asked the girl that sold me the oysters and she gave me an oyster knife, which is just like a little curved knife, not very sharp, but  still could cut into my hand when i slip. im just a pretty impatient person so im always in a hurry to get into things.

[carnivore]

Carnivore,

When it comes to fish, there's a clear difference between farmed and wild because the farmed fish are kept in tanks and fed who knows what.. With farmed filter-feeders, such as oysters or clams, which are usually kept in a bay, and not "fed" anything by humans, I get concerned with the contamination of boat and petroleum toxins. There can also be runoff of lawn fertilizers -not to mention red tide.

In Florida, we have something called "red tide," which is an algal bloom that gives off toxins, in the water and the air. Filter feeders are off limits during red tide. Whether farmed or wild, I would not eat them during a red tide outbreak. You see, manatees and dolphins have been known to wash ashore during these outbreaks. Small fish start washing up first, followed by bigger fish, such as drums. Then the sea-mammals and sea turtles start to wash up.

The last time I had oysters at a restaurant, it was just after an outbreak of red tide. I was assured that they were farm-raised in northern Florida, so I enjoyed them. I had 12 in fact. It didn't begin to fill me up. :-)

Craig

I am not sure wild oysters are less polluted than farmed oysters.

[Satya]

I am not sure wild oysters are less polluted than farmed oysters.

Yes, oysters are different from fish as they are intertidal creatures.  So whereas farmed salmon are living in a radically artificial habitat than wild counterparts, oysters that are farmed are merely penned in to a specific region, and depending on where they are, will be more or less polluted than other farmed or native, wild peers. 

[xylothrill]

not sure what Shuckers are??

i just asked the girl that sold me the oysters and she gave me an oyster knife, which is just like a little curved knife, not very sharp, but  still could cut into my hand when i slip. im just a pretty impatient person so im always in a hurry to get into things.

That would be what we call "shuckers" but they shouldn't be able to cut your flesh. They should be dull.

[xylothrill]

Yes, oysters are different from fish as they are intertidal creatures.  So whereas farmed salmon are living in a radically artificial habitat than wild counterparts, oysters that are farmed are merely penned in to a specific region, and depending on where they are, will be more or less polluted than other farmed or native, wild peers. 

That's what worries me! How's one to know where an oyster comes from be it farmed or wild?

[TylerDurden]

farmed oysters don't have the wild "tang" that wild meats/seafood all have. They're also usually much smaller, though a few I've found have been quite big. I think that farmed oysters all have much thinner shells by comparison to wild oysters - at least, farmed mussels all have thinner shells than wild mussels, that's well-known.

[Satya]

Here's a link to an NPR audio article on eating oysters in France.  I heard it on the radio this morning and thought other oyster lovers would enjoy it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94499912

[Satya]

I have been getting really good, live, New England oysters recently.  They are not as big as pacific oysters but are a good size.  They are very strong oysters and it's super tough to open them, even with the tools.  It makes me wonder how modern they are.  I mean, I suppose you could bash them on a rock, but you'd lose all the liquid, and you'd dirty and mash up the flesh.